One in three women may have been abused as a child, and this has a significant impact on their health, shows research in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. A recent report from the World Bank suggests that in established market economies, violence against women is responsible for their losing one out of every five working days.
A random survey of almost 400 women between the ages of 40 and 50 showed that a third of them had been either sexually or physically abused as a child; 15 per cent reported being abused as an adult. The survey was carried out in a rural community in Sweden where the paper industry, health professions, and social services are the main employers.
Common symptoms, such as joint pain, fatigue, headache and low back pain were 60 per cent more likely in women who had been beaten or sexually abused as children. Being subjected to violence or sexual abuse as an adult more than doubled the risk of physical and psychological symptoms.
Whether a woman was in work, and the amount of social support she received had no bearing on the associations between abuse and ill health. But adequate social support was protective for those who were abused as an adult.
The authors conclude that the health impacts of abuse often go unrecognised and are underreported.
Contact:
Dr Carlos Alvarez-Dardet, Unversidad de Alicante, Spain, Editor - Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
Email: carlos.alvarez@ua.es
The association between violence victimisation and common symptoms in Swedish women
Journal
Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health